Candling eggs - When is Day 1?

[BrineChickFarm]

Hi there!

I've started incubating some of our eggs for the first time, and I've read a lot about Candling Eggs both on this site and others. What I'm confused about is when do we count Day 1? Is day 1 the day you put the eggs on the incubator? If so, today would be day 3 for me and I don't see any development. If not, today is Day 2 (48 hrs in incubation) and I wouldnt expect to see anything.

Thank you for any input you have, I know I am being very impatient, but I want to make sure they are developing. I know not all the eggs I get are fertile, and I want to remove those from the incubator as soon as possible.

Thanks!

Amanda

 

[Pathfinders]

Be patient. I count Day One as 24 hours after putting the eggs in. I usually don't candle until at 14 days, but then that's just me. You can leave eggs in that long, nothing bad will happen. They won't go bad until about three or four weeks, so no worries.

Relax. Sit back. Grab a snack. Don't keep opening the incubator. Every time you do that, you lose precious humidity, which is bad for the eggs. Just chill, dude.

 

[BrineChickFarm]

LOL Thank you

 

[Pathfinders]

 

[Brookhavens]

Whatever day of the week you set your eggs on is the same day you can expect them to hatch. Example:You set the eggs at 10:00am on Sunday,January 27 so your hatch day (Day 21) is Sunday, February 17th. Another way to look at it is in hours. Sunday, 1/27 at 10am is 0 hours. 1/27 at 10pm is 12 hours and 10am on 1/28 is 24 hours. 24 hours = 1 day or Day 1 of incubation. When you read or hear "lock down or stop turning" on Day 18 it means after the full 24 hours of Day 18 has gone by. So for you that would mean that Day 18 ends on the morning of 2/14 @ 9:59am. Day 19 starts @ 10:00am Thursday. Day 20 starts @ 10am on Friday and Day 21 starts @ 10am on Saturday and ends on Sunday @ 9:59am. So on Sunday at 9:59am you have had 21 days (each consisting of 24 hours) of full development.

 

[hereorthere]

Whatever day of the week you set your eggs on is the same day you can expect them to hatch. Example:You set the eggs at 10:00am on Sunday,January 27 so your hatch day (Day 21) is Sunday, February 17th. Another way to look at it is in hours. Sunday, 1/27 at 10am is 0 hours. 1/27 at 10pm is 12 hours and 10am on 1/28 is 24 hours. 24 hours = 1 day or Day 1 of incubation. When you read or hear "lock down or stop turning" on Day 18 it means after the full 24 hours of Day 18 has gone by. So for you that would mean that Day 18 ends on the morning of 2/14 @ 9:59am. Day 19 starts @ 10:00am Thursday. Day 20 starts @ 10am on Friday and Day 21 starts @ 10am on Saturday and ends on Sunday @ 9:59am. So on Sunday at 9:59am you have had 21 days (each consisting of 24 hours) of full development.

Thanks for clarifying that! It's very exact. I would have gone into lockdown 1 day too early had I not seen this!

 

[BrineChickFarm]

What does lockdown mean?

 

[Brookhavens]

What does lockdown mean?

Lockdown is the last 3 days of incubation. At the end of Day 18 you up the humidity in your incubator to the mid to high 60's and stop turning the eggs. At this point it is recommended to NOT OPEN THE INCUBATOR unless it is absolutely necessary. The eggs need the extra moisture from the higher humidity to keep the membrane moist as the chicks are hatching. If you open the incubator during this time the humidity will drop and can cause the membrane to dry out and stick to the chick (shrink wrapping.)

 

[Pathfinders]

Oh my yes! Do not open the incubator. And once the chicks start to hatch, don't open it (IMO) for at least 24 hours after the first chick has hatched. They have no need to be removed during that time. The yolk they have absorbed into their abdomen provides all the nutrition they need. They will not harm the other eggs by scrambling around over them, never fear. Just leave it closed. Watch, sure. But leave it alone.

Chicks can live very well for at least that first 24-48 hours after they've hatched without any supplemental food or water, it's how we can ship them! More harm can be done by opening the incubator and taking chicks out than if you just leave it closed. Chicks that have pipped can be locked into their shells if they lose the humidity they need, so resist temptation during this crucial time.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Your welcome to have a look at my notes! Good Luck with your hatch! Hatching Eggs 101 ~ Guide to ASSISTED Hatching ~ Mushy Chick Disease